Maleficent Movie Review Trailer Stars Angelina Jolie Elle Fanning
'Maleficent' Movie Review, Trailer Stars Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning Movies for Grownups
Stars: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley
Director: Robert Stromberg Remember that big-hearted lady from your youth, a friend of your mother's, perhaps, who would shake her head knowingly and say things like, "There's no such thing as bad children ... only children who do bad things." Frank Connor/Disney Enterprises, Inc. Angelina Jolie, as the evil fairy Maleficent, in Disney's new retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty Well, guess what? That sadly misguided woman must now be among the suits running Disney, which seems to be in the process of explaining to new generations that movie villains aren't really villainous; they're just misunderstood. That was the case of the "evil" sister in last summer's animated hit , and it's the same story in Disney's new live-action spectacle Maleficent, a retelling of the studio's 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty -— a fond movie memory for many a . In this case, Maleficent takes one of Disney's most gleefully psycho baddies (played by , lips in full flower and her already-angular cheekbones honed to razor sharpness by computer tweaking) and rationalizes away all her meanness as the result of a horrible betrayal at the hands of Sleeping Beauty's sociopathic dad (Sharlto Copley). In fact, Maleficent almost immediately regrets that prick-your-finger-and-sleep-forever curse she puts on the beautiful daughter, but because of some small print she added to the spell, it's irrevocable. So she watches the little girl grow up, first from the shadows and then as a friend, knowing what fate awaits on her 16th birthday. Along the way there are some Lord of the Rings–knockoff battle scenes between the evil humans — who live in a dark, gnarled land cursed by corrupt political leadership — and the good-hearted fairies, who live as one with nature, share everything, and need no government whatsoever ("Fairies of the World Unite!"). As the sleeping princess Aurora, is asked to do little more than hold out her finger and smile as computer-animated fairies land on it. Copley is just plain weird as her dad, never giving an inkling of why his character is such a jerk. Jolie, on the other hand, is the reason to go see the movie in the first place, and she is mesmerizing in the title role. As the inevitable climax approaches, especially, she summons up a truly moving performance as a woman who is haunted and horrified by what she has done. She'd be an early Oscar contender if the rest of the film were not so aggressively lame-brained. Bill Newcott is a writer, editor and movie critic for AARP Media.
There' s No Magic in ' Maleficent'
Angelina Jolie is the one reason to see Disney' s ' Sleeping Beauty' reboot
Rating: PG Running Time: 1 hour, 39 minutesStars: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley
Director: Robert Stromberg Remember that big-hearted lady from your youth, a friend of your mother's, perhaps, who would shake her head knowingly and say things like, "There's no such thing as bad children ... only children who do bad things." Frank Connor/Disney Enterprises, Inc. Angelina Jolie, as the evil fairy Maleficent, in Disney's new retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty Well, guess what? That sadly misguided woman must now be among the suits running Disney, which seems to be in the process of explaining to new generations that movie villains aren't really villainous; they're just misunderstood. That was the case of the "evil" sister in last summer's animated hit , and it's the same story in Disney's new live-action spectacle Maleficent, a retelling of the studio's 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty -— a fond movie memory for many a . In this case, Maleficent takes one of Disney's most gleefully psycho baddies (played by , lips in full flower and her already-angular cheekbones honed to razor sharpness by computer tweaking) and rationalizes away all her meanness as the result of a horrible betrayal at the hands of Sleeping Beauty's sociopathic dad (Sharlto Copley). In fact, Maleficent almost immediately regrets that prick-your-finger-and-sleep-forever curse she puts on the beautiful daughter, but because of some small print she added to the spell, it's irrevocable. So she watches the little girl grow up, first from the shadows and then as a friend, knowing what fate awaits on her 16th birthday. Along the way there are some Lord of the Rings–knockoff battle scenes between the evil humans — who live in a dark, gnarled land cursed by corrupt political leadership — and the good-hearted fairies, who live as one with nature, share everything, and need no government whatsoever ("Fairies of the World Unite!"). As the sleeping princess Aurora, is asked to do little more than hold out her finger and smile as computer-animated fairies land on it. Copley is just plain weird as her dad, never giving an inkling of why his character is such a jerk. Jolie, on the other hand, is the reason to go see the movie in the first place, and she is mesmerizing in the title role. As the inevitable climax approaches, especially, she summons up a truly moving performance as a woman who is haunted and horrified by what she has done. She'd be an early Oscar contender if the rest of the film were not so aggressively lame-brained. Bill Newcott is a writer, editor and movie critic for AARP Media.